Re: Zero Kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu – 20

Re: Zero “Wilhelm van Astrea”

Re: Zero. This is the moment we’ve all been waiting for… the battle against the giant White Whale! And it’s truly a great battle indeed as we see all three armies charge against it and literally firing all its efforts into defeating it. Rem and Subaru lead the charge initially but then it’s up to basically Crusch’s team to take it down. When you take a step back, it’s pretty abnormal to see a giant floating White Whale even in the realm of fantasy. I get that it’s a mabeast, but still – why is it a whale? Why not a giant eagle or something? Totally off-topic now. Anyway, even though the Whale has endured many hits and cuts, it manages to keep on flying and doesn’t ground itself easily unless its charging at someone. There were a few scenes that actually got me excited to see damage being done but alas, it only makes the Whale angier. When Wilhelm cuts out his eye, that totally made me cringe (and pity the Whale in general). It makes me feel pain just seeing the Whale get disembodied like that – even though I know it’s the enemy.

And of course, to no one’s surprise – the White Whale’s fog does in fact make memories of an individual disappear. I believe the Whale eats the person in the fog and then that person disappears from any memory. It’s weird that soldiers would NOTICE that people are missing and not know who they are though. Re: Zero. I thought that the soldiers would just be forgotten altogether. Subaru is the only exception to the rule because he’s a) lived through this attack once but b) he also seems to be immune to the effects of the fog. I thought initially that it’s because he’s special with his abilities, but maybe it has something to do with the Witch’s influence over him that makes him immune to mabeast powers as well. Rem/Ram aren’t immune to the fog and neither is anyone else on the battlefield from what I can gather.

What I enjoyed the most this episode though, despite the huge epic fight, was how well it intertwined with Wilhelm’s history. When I first started the episode, I thought it was going to be a whole episode devoted to the history before Subaru, but seeing bits and pieces of Wilhelm’s encounters with his wife was a nice touch. The anime has done a great job of incorporating all the necessary scenes that explain Wilhelm’s history and just how Theresia van Astrea (Takahashi Minami) changed his life. I would’ve liked to see just how he falls in love with her and how their romance blossomed but seeing more of Theresia’s skills as a Sword Master was cool too. Not to sound sexist or to generalize, but it’s amazing to me that a woman would be the Master Swordsman in a country whose knights are primarily men. It only increases my curiosity as to how their lives changed after meeting – Theresia must have had a huge influence over Wilhelm to not only marry him but better his skills to “protect” those around him. I mean, look at him today! Unfortunately, he doesn’t get the revenge he fought so hard for because the Whale literally shallows him whole. NOooo! Not Wilhelm too! I think losing him and Ricardo this episode was a huge blow that I wasn’t ready for. Re: Zero. I always thought this was going to be it – no more revivals for Subaru (in this arc) – so these loses could be for real and characters actually die for good. To see Wilhelm and Ricardo go like that just feels like such a blow to the team and show in general. An entire episode title just for Wilhelm and now he’s gone? Gosh, that tears my heart up.

KONTAK PERKASA FUTURES – The fight continues next week against not one but THREE Whales! I can’t imagine how the armies are going to accomplish that task unless the other Whales are fakes. With a lot of people missing/dead, it’ll only grow more difficult for them to take down the White Whale. I wonder if that means that someone else has more tricks up their sleeves or if they’re just going to continue to strike it until it gets grounded…